Penance of Redemption
by The Phantom Dragon
Summary: Sometimes the road to redeem one's self is not quite what they imagined.  After his trial Draco is sentenced to serve time as a guinea pig for a wizard/muggle program.What ensues could either be his ticket to salvation or will he fall back to the darkness
1. Chapter I: Judgement

_**Ummmmm yes my dear faithful readers I am insane, all hail the awesome evil of SATs that will drive all but the most devout of its follower's sanity to the edge of the metaphorical cliff. Personally I think mine is enjoying its vacation as a nice little pile of splattered mush at the bottom of said canyon of mental limitations, which is why I am now starting yet another fic whilst my other ones are already waging World War III for my computer time.**_

_**So on with the mental meltdown heh heh.**_

**Chapter I: Judgment **

The slow dripping of the walls was going to drive him crazy if he wasn't already. He had almost lost count of how long he had been here or would have if it weren't for the ceaseless taunting of the jailers when their rounds brought them to his cell.

It had been almost two months since the Auroras arrived at Hogwarts the day after the fall of the Dark Lord to begin the long process of picking up the pieces and to lead him and his family away along with any others who had survived the vengeful mobs of students and the families of those who had died in the last battle.

Now less than twenty-four hours stood between him and his doom. Tomorrow was the hearing to decide the fate of him and his parents and he didn't have any illusions of how it was to end.

The Ministry had lost no time sweeping up the last few pockets of those loyal to Voldermort which had been next to none since the majority of his followers had come rushing to join what they had blindly believed to be the fight to complete their hold on the Wizarding world.

How he wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Despite the fact that Kingsly Shacklebolt, the current temporary Minister, had proven his full intent to make a break from the Ministry's former policy of 'guilty till proven otherwise' by holding as fair a trial as he could get for each condemned person more cells were filling than were being emptied.

Most of those who had either been threatened, cursed, and/or blackmailed into submission and servitude had been cleared within the first week or so if what little information that had managed to trickle in was true.

Those who were bribed or indirectly supported the dark Lord's cause were heavily fined, placed under parole or house arrest, or given time in lesser prisons.

A smaller number who had openly shown their loyalty to _him_ and the few remaining Death Eaters who had somehow survived the fight at Hogwarts had been tried and quickly found accountable. Just two days before a Death Eater, who he knew only by face, had been taken from his cell across the hall for judgment, he hadn't returned. The subtle jeers from the wizards on duty when they brought the evening meal had been more than enough to let him know the outcome.

The idea churned his already nauseous innards. Ever since he had come in contact with them on the train in his third year he had never been able to suppress the infinitesimal shudder that coursed through him whenever he thought of the dementors and the way they magnified every shadow from his past. He had only been a spoiled, pampered thirteen year-old then and still had wished with everything in him to never have cause to come in contact with the creatures again.

Now he carried the full burden of things he had done and witnessed in his time with the deranged maniac that had clearly never been very stable to begin with. The added bonus of being stuck with the source of the pantomimes of these past two years made for a recipe of a nightmare from hell itself.

Hell. That's were he belonged after everything he had done. He may not have done them directly or by choice but he was still responsible for allowing himself to be pushed so far. He deserved to rot in a lake of fire while the ghosts of those who had suffered because of him, because of his _weakness_, laughed and reviled in his fate.

_How the mighty have fallen._ They would screech and poke and sneer at his torment, but still it would never compare to the agony of this last year.

Before that he had at least had the safety of the school away from Voldermort. But it hadn't been safe. Nowhere had been safe. Not since the day, not since _he….._

A sudden wave of surreal cold raised the hair on the back his neck.

_Oh no. No no NO! Not again please no. _ There is nothing he can do, there are no more loving parents or godfather to protect him and his wand was taken away the second the Auroras had laid hands on him. The dark slowly but steadily snipes away at his vision.

"No"…..the wispery moan is all he can manage before the shadowy yet strikingly clear images begin to take form in his mind.

_Running through a hall filed with screams and multicolored streams of light… he must do this he must, their lives… _

"_Do it", the voice thin but tortuously high rose to settle like a hissing fog of subtly toxic miasma… "Please." The small whimpered plea is like a thousand frozen needles piercing every orifice of his being….._

"_Finish him." Dark lidded eyes that just barely contained the gleaming desire for death and a subtle jealousy for not being the one to serve it._

"_Prove the truth of your devotion." The voice slithered through the air to coil in his throat like the snake whose master now urged him on._

"…_Specifically instructed he must be the one to do it."_

"_Just end it." Eyes that matched the summer skies he once found his freedom from all this in, framed in crimson from the large gash inflicted by some ring on the hand of one that found it amusing to strike one so helpless against them._

_The body hung midair, the look, though now void of life, some how still held sadness, and was that….pity? for him? Who would stoop low enough to that level?_

"_It's not your fault. I won't blame you." How could one so young and, previously, innocent assert such a thing? _

"_You are not a murderer!"_

"_Undeserving scum! Do it! Do it NOW!"_

"_It doesn't have to end like this."_

"_They are filth that pollutes our kind. What we do is a mercy…."_

"_There _IS_ another way!"_

Corroded senses failed to notice the receding chill that signaled the dementor had moved on. All he was conscious to was the screeching of the phantoms dancing behind his closed eyelids mingling with hoarse cries that he was just barely able to identify as his own.

Finally after what seemed an eternity the cries quieted down to strangled sobs. Tears flowed freely down chalk white skin adding to the tracks formed by their predecessors.

He made no move to wipe them away. Instead curling into an even tighter ball in the corner. He would not ask for, _could not _ask for mercy, for the horrors to be taken away.

This was his payment, his punishment for it all.

His _judgment_.

And there was none to help him. After all, it was only what he deserved.

* * *

**Ok it's a little watered down from my normal 'start with a bang' method but I just got home from a dressage (that's fancy horse riding for those who do not spend 80% of their free time at a stable) competition at like 11 pm and am being drilled in why it is a very _bad _idea to consume coffee, vodka, beer, and wine all within the space of three hours*shudders*. So my plot bunny decided to take advantage of my fried defenses to launch an attack with this new story it's been campaigning for since last week.**

**So if something is screwed or it sucks let me know and I'll try to a take a shot at redoing it when I'm sober without the caffeine rush.**


	2. Chapter II: Love Your Enemy!

**_Evil plot bunny love. Loki hijacked the rabbit hole so getting anything out of there is currently a nightmare so you can blame him for the wait._ **

**Chapter II: Love Your Enemy?**

"No! No! And NO! Harry if you are seriously suggesting I testify to help that slimy little spawn of a mountain troll you are officially out of your mind!"

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Are you finished yelling Ron?" His best friend scowled and slammed his hands on the table.

"Have you been listening or did having Voldemort almost killing you completely toast your memory as well as your sanity?" Ron glared and leaned in until the two boys were almost nose to nose. "He. Is. A. Deatheater!"

"Who's a deatheater?" Both of them jumped at the new voice and turned to see Ginny standing in the kitchen doorway. Ron 'hmphed' and sat back down.

"Your boyfriend here thinks it will be a good idea to tell the world all about the piety of saint Malfoy. And what are you doing here any way? I thought you were staying home to help mum."

Ron immediately wished that hadn't come out quite so hard. The death of his brother had hit the family hard and left them all in a daze. Just last week he quite accidentally, on reflex, asked George which brother he was. The look in the surviving twin's eyes sent Ron scurrying to avoid him the rest of the day. For now he had joined Harry in hiding out at Grimmauld place in an attempt to avoid the wizarding world in general.

Infamy, he was learning, was just not worth the problems that came with it. Thanks to several large jawed students, his and Hermione's roles (highly exaggerated and speculated thanks to a certain blond reporter) in the defeat of the Dark Lord were now almost as legendary as Harry's first round with old snake face.

Ginny caught the guilty look in his eyes and easily overlooked his temper. "She's doing fine. Much as I hate to admit it, I think Percy coming back is doing her loads of good to get on." The family had readily forgiven their prodigal in lieu of his repentance, the loss of one of their own inspiring their familial bonds to new heights.

Harry respectfully left them to their silence and stood to walk to the stove. "Tea?" he asked conversationally.

"Thank you," Ginny said and slid onto the bench he had vacated. "Where's Hermione? Is she still with her parents or here?"

"She's upstairs looking through some books she kept when we were cleaning out the place. Said something about 'even musty old papers having more sense than us two'." Ginny caught Harry's eye and giggled at her brother's sulking. Ron and Hermione might be together but that hadn't done much to change their general behavior towards each other.

"Her family OK then?"

"Her parents spent the last year thinking they were Australian and childless. It didn't affect them too much and after a week she showed up grumbling about lack of personal space." Harry set down the steaming mug in front of Ginny and leaned over to snag a kiss.

"Do you _mind_ mate? That happens to be my _sister_ you're snogging there." Both looked up to see Ron with his nose turned away in the air as if watching might make him physically ill.

"Huh, you're one to talk." Harry snorted. "You can't wake up without hounding Hermione for a morning kiss. Now when _I_ finally get to see _my_ girlfriend for the first time in weeks you complain?"

"Who's complaining about what?" Ron instantly 'eeped' and jumped as the redhead's voice preceded its owner into the subterranean room.

Harry and Ginny were once again forced to stifle giggles as the now heavily blushing Ron turned to see Hermione standing in the doorway holding a book she had obviously been perusing on the way down here.

"Nothing Hermione," he quickly covered. "Just trying to decide on a proper way to welcome back our long lost prodigal brother…er… what are you reading?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow that clearly stated she didn't believe him. "Well, since we are already on the subject of prodigals…" She carefully laid the book on the table and turned it to show Harry. "It says here in Law 472, section 19: No witch or wizard may be held responsible for the actions of their wand if said article was not in their possession at the time of the casting. Subsection 8 goes on; involuntary lending or surrendering of a wand under duress shall not be held against original owner. Responsibility of the wand shall immediately revert to the party or parties found in possession of the item in question.

"Basically, since Lucius Malfoy hasn't had his or any wand for the past year they can't charge him for any spells his wand was used for or cast in his house." Ron and Ginny's heads swung from Hermione, to Harry, and back as if attached to the same string.

"Merlin's beard! Hermione, you're not actually helping him with this are you?" Ron looked the way he might if, say, he caught Percy and Professor Lockhart going at it in a corridor.

Hermione straightened up and glared until Ron whimpered and backed down from his challenge. "Yes I am and you should be as well."

Seeing her boyfriend going into intrinsic shock she sighed and sat down. "Ron," she said in a forced gentle tone, "I know this is not easy for you to understand. I don't like the brat either, but think about it. We're trying to make a new start, a new beginning for everyone. But in order to do that we need to be able to set aside our differences and work together.

"Sure they were mean, stuck up, egotistic bastards, but that's what years of hatred and ignorance can do to people. Don't you think you would be the same if your parents brought you up to hate muggles too?"

"No!" Ron stated a little too quickly, prompting Hermione to raise an eyebrow at him thoughtfully. "Well… maybe?" he replied meekly.

Hermione nodded and leaned against the table so she could look at him fully from her position next to him. "I'm not asking you to like them or even forgive them. But, don't you think there have been enough deaths. Enough people losing their lives over misunderstandings and bad feelings. If we're serious about making a change then we need to show them we are capable of rising above their level, even if it feels like gouging out your stomach with a fork."

"Yeah, wouldn't you want to get a fair trial even if you were them?"

Ron glared at Ginny before throwing his hands up in surrender. "Fine you win. I'll help." He shot a pained look at Hermione who gave him one of her most dazzling smiles and leaned back against the shoulder of the arm he draped around her. It was still hard for him to believe that the formerly mousy, bookish girl had turned out so radiantly beautiful and was now all his. Agreeing to her arm twisting was but a small price to pay.

"If nothing else," Harry offered, "that fork will also be doing the tango in Draco's stomach at the fact it's us who are saving him again."

Ron smirked at this prospect. "Ah, do you remember the look he had when he finally grasped the fact that it was we who saved his life twice?" The other three couldn't help a small snicker from escaping.

"Do good to those who hate you? That line says nothing on not enjoying watching them squirm about it." The words suddenly caused Harry to see Ginny in a whole new light.

"You know, you're right. Hey, think maybe we could get George and a few others to help if we use that reasoning?"

Hermione shot Harry a reproachful glare for a few seconds before relenting. "Well… it would be nice to have some more help with the research and technicalities. I know for a fact that Luna has some relatively solid evidence from her time in Malfoy Manor about what was really going on with them since you can hear pretty much anything going on in the hall upstairs from the cell she was in. She was surprisingly fast on jumping in to volunteer when I asked about it."

Harry chuckled at the idea of the eccentric girl being the best defense for what had previously been one of the most distinguished families in the wizarding world. "Well… if you think it will help."

Hermione beamed. "We'll have a case yet. Just see what happens when we show up for that trial."

"Every wizard with half a brain will be suffering shock comas in twenty seconds is what will happen. Hey I just thought of something," Ron piped. "That passage ends with 'Pray for those who do spitefully use you and persecute you'."

"Ron!" Hermione warned grinning.

"Heavenly Father," Ron solemnly intoned as he slid forward to kneel on the ground with hands folded on the table before him. "We ask your divine intervention as we now endeavor to pull off the miracle of the century. Lead these Your lost sheep, the Malfoy family, back to Your holy ways of love and grace to all they do meet. In Thy name we most humbly ask. God bless us everyone. Amen."

Laughter filled the room at the most unconventional entreaty to the heavenlies, quickly expunging the place of the previously charged atmosphere. With their spirits back up they all set about preparing for their most unforeseen battle yet.

They were going to have a lot of ground to cover before the court date. Most of which would be sorting through the muddle that was the meager facts they had to build their defense. A lot of the little details could send the trial either way.

The most unpredicted fact however, was that request sent up on high in jest. Because the problem is, when you pray, you had better be prepared for the answer.

* * *

Ok so I have no idea if they teach any kind of religion in the wizarding world but it was fun. So unless Rowling says otherwise I will stick by the theory that they must have some knowledge of that kind of stuff.

Reviews are like chocolate, can't get enough. PWEATY PWEASE!


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